


Guess We Are Both Lost Huh Buddy?

by ArabellaTurner



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coping, Depression, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Eddie is a cat, Everybody Lives, Fix-It, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Recovery, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Smoking, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, getting better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-16 03:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21264080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArabellaTurner/pseuds/ArabellaTurner
Summary: After defeating Pennywise and returning home, Richie is not doing well. With his career in shambles, his sense of humor basically gone, his best friend dead, and the love of his life dead, Richie can barely find a reason to keep on living. That is, until he finds a stray cat lying on the side of the road.After dying, Eddie just wants to know that Richie is doing okay. The last thing he expects is for a giant turtle to tell him to think of an animal, yet next thing he knows, he is wandering the streets of LA trapped in the body of a cat.Inspired by this tumblr post: https://bby-stark-ptr-prkr.tumblr.com/post/188708635015/addition-what-if-the-cat-is-eddie-reincarnated





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know that it has nothing to do with Halloween despite being published on Halloween, but I was just too excited to start getting it out there. Like I said in the description, I came up with this idea from this tumblr post (https://bby-stark-ptr-prkr.tumblr.com/post/188708635015/addition-what-if-the-cat-is-eddie-reincarnated) and the name comes from the caption there.
> 
> I will try my best throughout this work to deal with some of the heavier issues both respectfully and healthfully and will give warnings before chapters where anything more intense happens. I promise that this does have a happy ending, but it will take a little bit of time to get there. I hope it will all be worth it in the end though!
> 
> Oh, and for those of you following my other Reddie work, that one will still be regularly updated as well. And for those of you following my Kleinsen work, I'm so sorry I keep putting that off in my haze of Reddie love. I promise it will be updated again soon!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie knew he couldn’t sustain this lifestyle forever. With no source of income, his savings would eventually give out if his liver didn’t beat them to it. It truly was a horrible way to live, but Richie couldn’t even begin to imagine a different one and he was pretty sure he never would again.

Richie knew his behavior was self-destructive. He could hear it in the voices of the other Losers every time they talked, see it on their faces every time they Skyped. He knew that all of them wanted to help him, but there just wasn’t anything they could do. Not unless they could bring Eddie back.

But of course, they couldn’t. They could battle inter-dimensional space clowns and enact strange Native American rituals, but saving the life of someone who meant so much to them was unfortunately impossible. Well, two someones, Richie supposed. Just because he wasn’t in love with Stan, didn’t mean he didn’t miss him as well. Stan had been one of Richie’s closest friends, even amongst the other Losers, and he missed him dearly. It was just that Eddie… Well, Eddie had been on a whole other level than anyone else Richie had ever met in his life. And Riche was pretty sure he would never meet anyone like Eddie ever again.

But now they were both gone. His best friend and the love of his life were both dead and Richie didn’t know where that left him. All of the other Losers were slowly picking the pieces of their lives back up and moving on to better things than before, but Richie seemed to be moving in the opposite direction. 

He had bombed his last show then missed the rest of the tour, leaving his reputation in ruins. The fact that he basically disappeared off the face of the earth for the next few weeks didn’t help either. And even if he did make a come back tour, what was the point? Richie didn’t have it in him to go up there and tell someone else’s jokes any longer and he certainly didn’t have it in him to write his own anymore. 

But without his comedy, Richie wasn’t sure what was left. He had no close friends in LA, no worthwhile hobbies, and definitely no meaningful relationships. He was pretty sure that there were only four people left in this world who gave a shit whether he lived or died and he sure as hell wasn’t one of them. Although, there were certainly days when death seemed like the more appealing option.

But Richie felt that was unfair to the others. They were finally starting to feel happy again. Who was he to make them mourn another loss? He might be absolutely miserable, but there was no reason he had to drag the others down to ease his own pain. It was pretty much the only thought that kept Richie going at this point.

Alcohol helped too. Lots and lots of alcohol. Cigarettes as well. Richie hadn’t really smoked since his teen years, but he smoked a lot now. The only times he didn’t have a cigarette hanging from his lips now and days was when he had a bottle pressed up against them or some cheap takeout he was shoveling down his mouth.

Richie knew he couldn’t sustain this lifestyle forever. With no source of income, his savings would eventually give out if his liver didn’t beat them to it. It truly was a horrible way to live, but Richie couldn’t even begin to imagine a different one and he was pretty sure he never would again.

\--------

Richie groaned as he rolled out of bed. He had a pretty bad hangover, but what else was new? It would go away soon enough once he got more alcohol into his system. Richie groaned once more as he stumbled into the bathroom and began to pee. He looked over at his shower for a moment, wondering if the hot water would soothe his pounding head and aching joints, but a shower seemed like so much work right now. If he got in, then he would need to change afterwards. And if he changed, he would need to find clean clothes. And in order to have clean clothes, Richie had to do the laundry.

Richie couldn’t remember the last time he had done laundry. He knew that the last time he showered was a few days prior. And he had at least brushed his teeth the night before after violently puking into his toilet. And speaking of puking, Richie could now see that he missed the bowl a little bit. That was absolutely disgusting and should really be cleaned up immediately. Only, that required Richie to actually clean.

Cleaning was another thing Richie hadn’t done in a long time. Empty takeout containers and beer bottles sat overflowing in his trash and all over the floor. His sheets were damp and smelly from being slept on repeatedly with his unwashed body and his clothes were thrown haphazardly around on the floor.

Richie himself didn’t look much better. His hair was greasy, his clothes were stained and dirty, and the shadows under his eyes were dark enough that it looked like he was wearing makeup.

Richie knew that he was a mess. It was why he always answered Skype calls on his phone while sitting in front of a wall. The lower camera quality helped obscure how sickly he looked and the wall hid the mess. He was pretty sure that the other Losers were onto him, but he always turned down their suggestions of meeting up in person. They all deserved to be happy and it wasn’t fair to drag them into his downward spiral.

So instead, Richie made his way into his kitchen and opened his fridge, cursing when he saw how empty it was. He scrounged through his cupboards for a minute before realizing he well and truly had nothing to eat or drink in his house. Cursing, Richie begrudgingly threw his shoes and a coat on and made his way outside.

\---------

The walk to the grocery store was unpleasantly long, but Richie didn’t feel up to driving right now. The bitter cold of the air also helped him regain his senses a little, which was both a blessing and a curse. Richie’s life had been a blurry haze recently, but at least it was more numb than sad. Out here in the cold, Richie felt his depression and loneliness grip him more fiercely. 

Shivering miserably, Richie pulled his coat in tighter. Maybe he would just take an Uber back home. He wasn’t sure he wanted to walk back carrying the bags.

Richie was pulled out his fantasies of returning home by a pitiful little whimper. He stopped short in his tracks and looked around to see where the sound was coming from, but saw nothing. He was about to press on and chalk the sound up to his imagination when he heard it again. Looking in the direction of the sound, he found a ragged and shivering cat curled up in a dirty piece of cloth.

As Richie stared at the cat, he felt his eyes well up with tears. It looked so broken and alone, just like him. Richie was certain that he was too far gone to be saved, but maybe the cat wasn’t. 

“Here kitty, kitty,” he called out gently, slowly approaching the cat and kneeling down beside it. “Good kitty, kitty,” he said softly, reaching out a hand for the cat to sniff. Hearing his words, the cat looked up at him and stiffened in fright.

“Hey. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” Richie promised the cat. “I want to take care of you, okay?” The cat stared up at Richie, its body trembling and its eyes sad. “Please. I just want to save someone,” Richie pleaded. Still trembling, the cat slowly got up and climbed up into Richie’s arms. It let out a slight retching noise as its face got close to his chest, but it stayed put where it was.

“There. There we go,” Richie said, carefully standing up with the cat in his arms. “Let’s get you home and warmed up. I’ll get some milk and cat food delivered to my place too. You look even hungrier than I am.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Edward Kaspbrak,” a deep voice suddenly spoke. Eddie jumped in surprise as he abruptly found himself staring face to face with a giant turtle. “Yes?” Eddie responded meekly. “You made a noble sacrifice,” the turtle continued, its eyes boring into Eddie soul. “I just wanted to save him,” Eddie replied, a wave of sadness coursing through his body. “Is he okay?” he asked desperately. “Please tell me that he’s okay.”

The place where Eddie woke up was dark and empty. “Hello?” he called out tentatively. He waited a few moments, but got no response. “Is anybody there?” he called out again. Still nothing. 

Panic began to settle in as memories of being impaled flooded back into Eddie’s mind. Was he dead now? Was this the afterlife? He sure hoped this wasn’t what death felt like. He didn’t want to spend an eternity like this. 

“Hello?” he called out again, a little louder this time. “If anybody is out there, please answer me!” Eddie felt himself start to struggle to breath and reached for an aspirator that wasn’t there. Tears welled up in his eyes and fear in his heart. This couldn’t be how it all ended, could it?

“Edward Kaspbrak,” a deep voice suddenly spoke. Eddie jumped in surprise as he abruptly found himself staring face to face with a giant turtle. “Yes?” Eddie responded meekly. “You made a noble sacrifice,” the turtle continued, its eyes boring into Eddie’s soul. “I just wanted to save him,” Eddie replied, a wave of sadness coursing through his body. “Is he okay?” he asked desperately. “Please tell me that he’s okay.”

The turtle continued to stare at Eddie, its eyes unblinking. “‘Okay’ is a relative term young Edward,” it replied. “He is alive, if that is what you mean. Physically, young Richard is unharmed, but spiritually he is badly injured.” Tears streamed down Eddie’s cheeks at the response. 

“No,” he whimpered. “No. Please. Please! Please help him!” Eddie begged. “Not help you?” the turtle asked. Eddie shook his head. “I gave my life for his once already. I would do it a thousand times more if it meant he could be happy,” he replied. 

Eddie could feel the air vibrate around him as the turtle laughed. “You humans truly are interesting creatures,” the turtle mused. “You are so weak and powerless, yet your love is capable of truly incredible feats.” The turtle looked at Eddie with something akin to fondness in its eyes.

“Once upon a time, I was powerful enough to create and destroy galaxies at will,” the turtle continued. “Now I am but a shadow of my former self, reduced greatly by my age. I will be leaving this world soon, but it is nice to know that there are beings left in it that I can trust.”

Eddie stared up at the turtle in shock and confusion. Did it really just say that it had the power to create and destroy galaxies? Just what sort of creature was he talking to here? “Unfortunately I cannot simply restore you to your life on earth. Once a creature has died, it takes an incredible amount of power to restore them. Power I no longer possess.” Eddie felt his heart sink. For a minute there, he had been hoping the turtle could help him return to life. 

“However, I am not entirely powerless,” the turtle continued. “I would not have brought you here to my domain if I were,” it assured Eddie. “Close your eyes, Edward Kaspbrak. Close your eyes and tell me the first animal you see.” Eddie did as he was told. “Cat,” he responded after a second. “And so it shall be,” the turtle responded. Then, with a flash of white light, Eddie found himself falling through the sky until he eventually landed one the ground, gracefully catching his balance on his four paws.

\--------

It took Eddie a few hours to get used to the whole cat thing. It was pretty annoying not being able to talk or communicate with people, but at least he appeared to be back on earth. And in LA no less. Eddie’s heart leapt when he realized that. The turtle had dropped him somewhere near Richie’s place, he was sure of it. Now he just needed to find him.

It turned out finding Richie was not an easy task. As a cat, Eddie could neither ask people nor navigate his way online. He hoped he could find some sort of posters advertising Richie’s tour dates or something, but he found nothing of the sort. LA was a big city and finding on person somewhere inside it was not going to be easy.

The other big issue was surviving. As a cat, Eddie had no money and no home. He was also frequently kicked out of shops and businesses when he tried to enter them. A few times, concerned people noticed he had no collar and tired to bring him to a shelter, but Eddie resisted. Even if he could get food and safety there, he would lose his mobility. He had promised the turtle he would die a thousand times to protect Richie and now, come hell or high water, he intended on finding him.

So the weeks went by, each day Eddie growing skinnier and dirtier. With human intelligence, he was able to come up with some clever schemes for finding food, but with a human mindset, he was also more picky. He was relieved to find that he had acquired at least some degree of a cat’s pallet and most of a cat’s dexterity, but there was also some degree of human knowledge he was now lacking. On more than one occasion, Eddie had tried to write things out on the ground, but he couldn’t seem to remember how to form words or letters and when he tried to draw pictures, those memories also seemed to escape him.

Eventually Eddie resigned himself to the fact that he was a cat. Sure, he had human memories, but he wasn’t able to preform human tasks. If he wanted to survive long enough to find Richie, he would simply have to act like a cat.

So that’s how he found himself curled up in a disgusting, discarded piece of fabric along the side of the road. It was a cold day and Eddie had been up for hours the night before trying to find something to eat. His stomach was still painfully empty now, but at least he wasn’t freezing. He felt really pathetic though. He had been given this wonderful second chance and he was blowing it. He could feel himself growing sicker and weaker, yet he was no closer to finding Richie. What was he going to do?

Richie. Just the thought of the other man sent a wave of warmth and longing through Eddie’s body. How he longed to see his friend once more. So much so, that he almost swore he heard the other man calling out to him, calling him a kitty of all things. “Good kitty, kitty,” the voice said again, causing Eddie to look up despite his better judgment.

What he saw made him both want to celebrate and sob. He hadn’t been imagining the voice after all, but he almost wished he was. Poor Richie looked and smelled horrible. He was greasy and sloppy, his body reeking of alcohol, cigarettes, and body odor. Eddie was almost disgusted by the idea of touching him, Almost. If it had been anyone else, Eddie probably would have refused, but this was Richie and there was not a goddamned thing in this world that was going to keep Eddie from rushing to him.

And as Richie picked him up and carried him back to his house, Eddie tried his best to keep his nose away from Richie as he nuzzled against him. The two of them made such a filthy and grubby pair, yet neither seemed to mind. For the first time since Eddie had returned to earth, he felt completely at ease.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He came back up fifteen minutes later, a bowl of cat food in one hand and a sandwich in the other. “I brought sustenance!” he announced happily as he reentered his bedroom. He then did a double take when he found that the rest of the clothes on his floor had been dragged into a pile. “Aww! Did you clean the place up while I was gone?” Richie asked in shock and joy. He had no idea cats were this intelligent or interested in cleanliness. It was genuinely adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to post. I started to write this fic and it turned super dark and depressing to the point where I didn't want to post that, so I waited a couple of days and started to rewrite it into something happier. The plot's still basically the same, but for my own mental health I just couldn't keep writing this that way! Anyways, updates should be a little bit more frequent in the future. Hope you enjoy them!

The ease Eddie had felt as Richie carried him home faded when Richie turned the shower faucet on. Eddie’s mind was filled with joy at the thought of a nice, warm bath, but his feline instincts objected. The result was a lot of wiggling and hissing, but an eventual lowering into the warm, soapy water. Eddie preened a little as Richie gently scrubbed the dirt out of his fur. It felt so insanely good to be clean again and even better to be touched by Richie once more. 

Now if only Richie would get in the water and take a bath himself. Eddie thought about it a moment before suddenly jumping up into Richie’s arms, spraying him with water. Despite his desire to stay in the bath, Eddie began to struggle once more. He kicked and splashed around, spraying Richie with as much water as possible. And much to his delight, Richie suddenly began to laugh. “You trying to give me a bath too?” he asked Eddie, gently petting him behind the ears. “Don‘t worry there, kitty. Once you’re all done, I’ll bathe myself as well. I can’t have an animal be the clearer person here!”

Satisfied with his work, Eddie sank back down into the bath and let Richie continue to scrub him. 

\--------

Once Richie had bathed the cat, he carefully dried him off and set him down on his bed. He smiled a little when he noticed the cat walking around and hissing at the mess. For a filthy stray, it certainly did seem to be opposed to anything gross. Although, Richie guessed he didn’t blame the cat. If he had just been cleaned after feeling gross for so long, he would probably also want to stay in a clean place.

“Sorry about the mess,” Richie apologized to the cat. “I’ll clean it up after I shower. Although our food will probably be here by then. I’m not sure what sort of cat food you like, so I ordered a variety.” He smiled when the cat looked up and meowed at him. It really was such a cutie.

Richie scrubbed himself until he was red and raw. Now that he had finally decided to get under the water, he remembered just how good it felt to be clean. Once he was done, he left his bathroom still wearing his towel. He knew it was sort of stupid to be afraid of being naked around an animal, but for some reason he just didn’t feel comfortable letting the cat see him like that.

Once he managed to find relatively clean clothes, Richie began to gather his clothes up off the floor and throw them into his hamper. Much to his amusement, the cat hopped down from his bed and began to join him. The pair was around halfway through the cleaning when Richie’s doorbell rang and he ran off to answer it.

He came back up fifteen minutes later, a bowl of cat food in one hand and a sandwich in the other. “I brought sustenance!” he announced happily as he reentered his bedroom. He then did a double take when he found that the rest of the clothes on his floor had been dragged into a pile. “Aww! Did you clean the place up while I was gone?” Richie asked in shock and joy. He had no idea cats were this intelligent or interested in cleanliness. It was genuinely adorable.

“You hungry?” he asked, setting the bowl of cat food down on the ground. The cat quickly ran over to it and began to sniff suspiciously. “It’s yummy,” Richie promised, kneeling down on the ground beside the bowl. “Come one now. Eat up little kitty,” he encouraged. The cat sniffed suspiciously once more before eventually taking a small bite. Then another and another until the food was entirely gone.

“Good kitty!” Richie declared happily, reaching out to pet it. “Oh, you’re such a good little baby!” he continued, making the cat purr contently. “You need a name, don’t you?” Richie then asked. The cat purred louder. “How about Mr. Snuggles?” Richie suggested, causing the cat to quickly switch from purring to hissing. 

“No?” Richie asked. “How about Fluffy then?” The cat continued to hiss. “Lion? Tiger? Sassy? Hissy?” Richie suggested, with another laugh. “Feisty?” he then suggested as the cat swiped its claws at him at the “Hissy” suggestion. “You’re certainly a feisty little thing. Germaphobe too,” Richie realized. He thought for a moment. “Eddie?” he then softly suggested. He smiled as the cat stopped hissing and nuzzled up against him. “Eddie it is,” Richie whispered contently.

\--------

Richie spent the next few hours shopping online for cat supplies. He knew that he was probably spending more money than he should be with no current income, but he was only going to buy the best for his little Eddie Spaghetti. 

Eddie Spaghetti. The thought of the name brought an ache to Richie’s heart. He wondered if Eddie would be mad at him for naming a dirty stray cat after him. Was it disrespecting the dead or something? Richie certainly didn’t want to disrespect Eddie’s memory. He just missed the other man so much.

Before Richie realized it, tears were streaming down his cheeks. He sniffled a little when he felt Eddie’s soft head brush up against his face. “You trying to dry my tears there, Eds?” Richie asked pitifully. The cat responded with a soft meow.

“It’s almost like you understand me,” Richie said softly. “When you’re here, it’s almost like I’m talking to him again,” he realized. “I miss him so much, Eds. So, so much. I don’t know how to go on without him,” Richie admitted. He stared sadly at the ceiling. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

For the next hour or so, Richie and Eddie sat curled up together, just feeling each other’s warmth. Richie had to admit it was a little comforting, but it just wasn’t enough. With the initial euphoria of finding the cat gone, the emptiness that was his life was starting to consume him once more.

“I’m going to step out for a bit,” he told Eddie as he gently moved him off his chest. “I’ll be back soon, okay,” Richie promised. “I just need to go pick some things up for myself.”

\--------

Eddie’s heart broke when he heard Richie talk about him. He desperately wanted to reach out and tell Richie who he really was, but he knew he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure if this was actually a second chance at life or some sort of cosmic punishment where he was forced to watch the person he cared about the most slowly fall apart because of him. He hoped it was the former, but was slowly starting to fear it was the latter. How on earth was he supposed to help someone this broken?

Especially now that Richie had gone out to get more to drink. Eddie knew that depression and alcoholism were not curable simply from adopting a cat, but he still wanted so badly for Richie to start getting better. They hadn’t even been reunited one day and Eddie could already see just how little care Richie was taking of himself. Why wasn’t anyone else helping him? Did no one else see just how broken he was?


End file.
